From: The Daily Bell
G. Edward Griffin on Inflation, Politics and the Power Elite
The Daily Bell is pleased to publish an exclusive interview with G. Edward Griffin (left).
Introduction: G Edward Griffin is a film producer, author and political lecturer. He is the founder of Freedom Force International, a libertarian-oriented activist network focused on advancing individual freedom. First released in 1994, Mr. Griffin’s best-selling financial book, The Creature from Jekyll Island, is a no-holds-barred look into the inner workings of the Federal Reserve banking system, or cartel if you will. Mr. Griffin’s literary contributions are especially noteworthy given the validity of his vision and the exciting and troublesome nature of the times in which we live.
Daily Bell: Thanks for sitting down with us again. It’s been a while. We’ll ask some follow-ups to previous questions. Where do we stand with the US stimulus? Will we see QE3? Will it work any better than the last ones?
G. Edward Griffin: Well, it’s always a little dangerous to make predictions about what’s going to happen, but I think in this case the risk factor is pretty low, because that’s all these fellows know how to do … what is called QE1, QE2. Quantitative easing is merely a more sophisticated phrase for creating money out of nothing and pumping it into the economic sectors, wherever they have friends, wherever they have places they need to re-enforce, to their own economic benefit.
They always make it sound like it is for the purpose of improving the economy, but make no mistake about it, we are dealing with a pretty corrupt system and there are a lot of people in that system that need to be taken care of. The larger banks, the larger financial institutions are always at the top of the list. If you follow the money, you will find that the lion’s share of it always goes to the banks. And if it doesn’t go to directly to banks, the next share goes directly to those corporations and institutions that owe money to the banks and are having trouble making their payments.
So, by sending money to these corporations and institutions, like General Motors for example, then they are always able to continue sending money to the banks. So, it always ends up at the banks. And that should be no surprise because the engine for all this is the Federal Reserve System, and if people don’t know it by now, they should know very quickly that the Federal Reserve System is a banking cartel. It’s no different than a banana cartel or oil cartel, shipping cartel, and it happens to be a banking cartel and like all cartels the purpose of its existence is not to help the public, not to benefit the economy, not to help America, it’s to benefit the members of the cartel, period.
That’s what’s going on in the process. Its all they know how to do; that’s what they are created to do as long as they are able to exist and given the power, that is what they will continue to do. And the second part of the question is, will it work any better than it did previously, the answer is that it worked very well but the problem is most people thought it was supposed to help the economy but that was never it’s purpose, it was to help the banks.
Remember this is a cartel and so the purpose of all this easing and stimulus is to help the banks and the political structures support the banks; that was its purpose. It was a very great success. So, it will work just as well next time around, aiding those hidden agendas. In terms of the economy and the people, it was never designed to help them.
Daily Bell: Are we seeing significant price inflation now?
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Daily Bell: Max Keiser estimated there are some 600 rebellions and regime changes going on in the world. These can’t all be CIA sponsored can they? Or perhaps they are the result of food insecurity. Do the elites intend to plunge the world into utter chaos? Why?
G. Edward Griffin: Well, I guess this is my day to say whatever just comes to my mind. (Laughing.) Yes, all 600 rebellions and regime changes could be the result of the CIA. I don’t think people realize how powerful and all invasive the CIA is in this world.
You know, the CIA is actively involved in all of those countries and are very influential in picking opposition candidates. Most of the leaders of the third world countries are there because the CIA supported them at one time, and those that go into office in that way can also be deposed that way. You don’t have to dig too deep to know that. They are involved in regime changes all over the world.
Daily Bell: You make an issue of being optimistic or pessimistic in your answers. But what is your overall sentiment?
G. Edward Griffin: I want to emphasize that I am probably the most optimistic person you will ever meet regarding the future of freedom. But I have a longer view of history than most and because I take a long view, it may seem as if I am pessimistic in the short term because real change takes time. Many people don’t look much further into the future, than the next election.
The forces that must be overcome have taken many years to grow to the present state of strength that they have. In the United States for example, the forces of collectivism have been growing and coalescing for decades. It took a hundred years, in fact, to capture the influence of the universities, the government, the media, the major corporations, the think tanks, etc. It took a long time.
It also resulted in conditioning the minds of the American people to accept certain presets – to accept the principles of collectivism. Americans have bought into collectivism. They think social security is a good thing. They think that governments should provide health care benefits; they think that government should provide everything as a matter of fact. They’ve been brainwashed into believing that.
In fact, it took a hundred years to bring that about. And you can’t reverse that by November. You CAN reverse it if you take a long view of history. That’s why we created an organization called Freedom Force International, because we have a longer view of history than next November. We have a view that encompasses a generation, possibly two generations and we know if we lay down the corner stones now, for certain principles and strategies, that there is no stopping them, even if the world turned to another “dark age” in the meantime.
We are laying the seeds for something that will grow and overcome the forces of tyranny in the next generation or two. And even though I may not live to see that, it’s a very comforting and optimistic thought that I am doing something that in the long run will bring the world back to the principles of freedom once again.
Daily Bell: What about Ron Paul and his freedom message?
G. Edward Griffin: I think Ron Paul is doing an excellent job given the constraints under which he must operate. Ron is not able to say anything and everything that comes to his mind, like I am here, and possibly say the things that people don’t want to hear … but fortunately I am not running for office.
Ron, poor chap, he has to worry about not saying too much for fear he may go beyond the understanding or educational level of the people he wants to vote for him. So, that’s a terrible constraint to live under. He is doing the most amazing job I have ever seen and I can’t imagine anyone doing any better under that constraint.
Daily Bell: We discussed the way the conservative movement is desperate to co-opt the libertarian message and that it has launched a number of artificial candidates to do so – including notably Sarah Palin. What do you think?
G. Edward Griffin: It’s becoming more and more obvious. I guess if people don’t fall for it any more, then I guess you could say it’s failing. With each turn of the wheel, with each election, people should learn that they fell for the same old trick, one more time. Every election people fall for the same trick. And that trick is, they believe the campaign speeches of the candidates. They don’t realize that the candidates, for the most part, spend a lot of time and money either conducting polls or studying polls very carefully. They do it to find out what people want to hear. And then they hire campaign managers and speechwriters to enable them to deliver to the population what they want to hear.
In many cases, politicians are just little recording devices. They have no feelings for what they are saying, they have no connections, they have only one goal and that is to get elected. And it is hard to find a person who you can say does not fit into that category. The only way that you can tell if a candidate is a real genuine person is by looking at their career. See what they have done in the past. Voters, unfortunately, are not too good at that. They just seem to want to hear what the candidate says, does he or she sound sincere and so on. The candidates are basically performers, like actors. But when you take what you call, the conservative movement, and that’s a good word, because that’s exactly what they call themselves, many of these people have been in office for a long time and all you have to do is look at their voting record and you can see what they believe, or at least what they vote for. And then when they come along and say they are going to restore the constitution and restore this country to constitutional principals and you see their voting records, you find out that 99% of the time when they voted, they violated the constitution. That ought to be a clue of what they are really all about.
So as each election goes by, and this trick is played on the voters again and again and again, I think there are a few more people that wake up to that trick. Eventually, and I don’t know how long it will take, I think more people will wake up. Let’s hope we have enough time.
Daily Bell: We think Ron Paul has a reasonable chance to become president. Optimistic? Loony?
G. Edward Griffin: As one man, he is kind of limited. He could say all the truths in the world and nobody would ever hear him because the mainstream media would block him. They would never alow him to make those statements – or the people to hear them. If they did, his statements would be twisted and accompanied by commentary, which would make him seem like he was some kind of ogre.
I don’t think Ron Paul, as one man, can overcome that. However, an army of supporters, millions of supporters, can. So then you come to the next question, well what if he did get elected? Does anybody really think that one man in the White House even with his high principles can change anything? When he is surrounded by a congress, senate, media and educational system that are all working against him, including the military, it can’t be done. We are back to one of my favorite themes, which is that in order to bring about real positive change in America, our movement has to be broader than just winning the election in November. We could put a man in the White House in November but lose everything.
Daily Bell: Your sentiments remind us of something former presidential candidate and a departed friend of ours, Harry Browne, once said when asked what would be the first thing he would do should he be elected president. His reply – “I’d quit.” I guess that summarized how he felt about the constraints. Anyway, back to Ron Paul … Dr. paul is anti-war, overseas anyway. We think the Pentagon is beginning to lose badly in Afghanistan. Your thoughts?
G. Edward Griffin: I think he is anti-aggressive-war. Is the Pentagon loosing badly in Afghanistan? What is the military presence in Afghanistan? Is it really to root out all the insurgents or is it to encourage the insurgents and keep them active, so we have an excuse to be there? I think the Pentagon is winning or achieving its goal in Middle East. Its goal is to be there and to have a reason to be there forever.
Daily Bell: We think Osama bin Laden died ten years ago and that the SEALS “tapping” of bin Laden was phony. Your thoughts?
G. Edward Griffin: I agree.
Daily Bell: How about 9/11. We’ve asked this before. Will the American establishment media ever get to the bottom of 9/11? Are you more hopeful? Last time you were not.
G. Edward Griffin: Well, I don’t think the major media will ever get to the bottom of it because they are not motivated to. They are controlled by the investment and political powers-that-be that don’t want the media to get to the bottom of 9/11. Like we were saying, it has to be a grass roots movement. Millions of people are acting in addition – or around major media – and I see that movement growing all the time.
I haven’t seen figures lately, but I remember maybe 6 or 7 months ago, that about 48% of the people thought that the official government story of 9/11 was not true. They didn’t know what it was but they had a strong feeling it was not true, that there was something being covered up. Well that progressed quite rapidly. A few years prior to that only 5% of the people believed that was true. Now, I don’t know what it would be, but I bet it’s closer to 60%.
That is not because of the major media. That is simply because people like us have been out there talking about this and presenting evidence. We are circulating CD’s and independent productions that bypass the major media. I think that is where our hope lies.
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